Chapter 5: Do No Harm
"There goes another one." Rosh said, pointing at the sensor display as one of the Dominion ships wandered out of the Badlands, then turned and reentered. He stood on the bridge looking over Esco's shoulder as the Nevlian sat at the port station.
"I doubt they can communicate with each other in the plasma storms." Esco speculated. "They're probably reporting to that ship." He indicated a blip on the display that was slowly circling the perimeter of the Badlands. "It hasn't entered the plasma storms once since I started tracking it."
"It's probably the Battleship. It's too big to safely enter the area." Rosh exhaled in frustration. "If we only knew what they were looking for."
"You don't think they are just trying to track down the vessel that destroyed two of their assault ships?" Esco asked, the hue of his skin reddening slightly.
"The fact that they even sent those ships after us makes me suspicious. I don't think it's the Nightingale itself that they want. I think it's something we brought on board." Rosh shook his head. He couldn't figure out what it was they were after. "I don't suppose a Starfleet intelligence officer would have any special insight."
The hue of Esco's skin was reddened further to a deep magenta, but the Nevlian remained silent. Rosh, lost in his own speculations, returned to the center chair. Esco's guilt got the better of him, he shut off the sensor display, and rose, turning to face the XO. "Lieutenant Rosh, I know what the Dominion is after."
Rosh looked up in surprise. "Yes?"
"Me." He replied.
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Ensign Hudson finished modifying the computer simulation and executed the program. "Damn it!" He yelled, hitting the console as the results were displayed.
"God, this place is small." Franks said, entering main engineering. "Did you say something?"
"Nah, it's just this port nacelle." Hudson said gesturing to the main engineering display that showed the port warp nacelle in bright red, indicating damage. "With only one functioning nacelle, we can't even make warp two."
"Well don't look at me." Franks snapped, felling very defensive all of a sudden.
"I'm not." Hudson said. "I just wish things had happened differently. The ship lost a lot." His thought wandered back to the Jefferies tube.
At the same time, Frank's thoughts wandered back to the bridge. "Listen, Ensign, I'm not going to stand here and point fingers. The repairs using the equipment from the asteroid should be done within the hour, I'll contact you then." Franks then stormed out of the small room. Hudson didn't understand what the JG had gotten so irritated about, but he really didn't care. His were in another time and place he wished he could forget.
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"Why are they after you?" Marion asked Esco. They were seated at Marion's desk, Rosh remained standing, studying the Nevlian intensely.
"I cannot tell you." Esco replied. "The answer to that question could compromise the security of the Federation."
"I see." Marion said, accepting the answer.
Rosh would not let it slide. "That answer is unacceptable. Whatever you're holding back could make the difference between this ship returning home, or being destroyed."
"Disclosing what this is about could destroy the Federation."
"How could a simple bit of knowledge be that dangerous?"
"In my experience in Starfleet Intelligence, I have found a simple bit of knowledge can bring an empire to its knees faster than a fleet of a thousand warships. I cannot tell you what I know Mr. Rosh, and my position will not change." Esco's resolve was clear.
"Well then," Marion stepped in. "How do we fight the Jem'Hadar with we know and what we have?" A thoughtful silence fell over the three of them as they searched for an answer.
"We are damaged and their ships greatly out class our own. I can think of no weakness of theirs we can exploit. It will be difficult to gain an advantage." Esco said.
"Undoubtedly they know that as well." Rosh said knowingly. "And we should act just as they would expect us to. We have to surrender."
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Jordan, like most Starfleet personnel, thought of his rack as his private sanctuary. The bed wasn't the most comfortable one he had ever slept in, but a curtain could be pulled closed to shut out the rest of the ship. Next to the helm, Jordan was happiest lying in the upper bunk of the room he shared with Chief Engineer. It was a small space, but it was his own. So it was understandable that he felt annoyance when not only was his slumber interrupted but his sanctuary invaded when someone's hand breached the barrier of the curtain and shook him
"Go away Hud." Jordan mumbled, but the hand shook him again. "Just because you're having trouble sleeping doesn't mean you have to bother me."
"Ensign Singer, you will wake up now." Whoever the voice belonged to it was not Hudson's.
Jordan shifted his position and poked his head out from behind the curtain. "Franks? What the heck?"
"We're having a meeting on the bridge in thirty minutes."
"We don't need to have a meeting, I know me and chief will be the only ones pulling helm duty." Jordan disappeared back behind the curtain of his rack.
Franks pulled the curtain all the way back. "This is not about helm duty. We are leaving the Badlands."
Jordan felt like he was ready to deck the JG until his mind processed what Franks had just said. "We're what?"
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Rosh was walking briskly down the passage way, speaking quickly to Esco who followed close behind. "We'll choose one the ships and intercept it as it exits the Badlands. We don't need any plasma storms complicating our plan. Is it safe to assume that we'll be facing an assault ship?"
"The Jem'Hadar assault ship is the only vessel in the Dominion's inventory small enough to navigate the Badlands." Esco replied.
"So now we just have to figure out how the keep that Battleship disinterested in us while we carry out this ruse."
"I'll have to talk it over with your engineer, but that shouldn't be a problem as long as all goes as quickly as we're hoping."
"Good, you meet with Ensign Hudson. I have a meeting on the bridge; I'll work out the details of your exchange." When Rosh was finished Esco nodded and headed to engineering. Rosh lengthened his stride and continued to the bridge.
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"I know this is not the most ideal of circumstances, but it is necessary for the survival of the ship. I need sick bay cleared. We have to get all these patients out of here." Marion instructed, standing in sickbay in front of the doctors of the USS Nightingale. There was some grumbling among the staff, but they all complied. Marion may not have been a born with the talents needed to be the skipper of a ship, but as a hospital administrator, few rivaled him.
Kizzy had just sent another patient off with a nurse when Marion walked by. "The ship is in a lot of danger, isn't it?" She asked Marion privately.
Marion looked at the young doctor and wondered if a comforting lie was warranted. He had never lied to a patient about the seriousness of the treatment they faced, and he would not lie to a colleague. "Yes, it is."
"Esco is the cause of this, isn't he? He was my patient, I saved his life. I feel responsible in a way." Kizzy said.
The Old Doctor put his hand on Kizmet's shoulder. "All you did was you're job and you did it well. You should never regret saving a life. You never know, the Jem'Hadar may have chased us regardless of whether Esco was aboard. But now, we have a bold plan and it wouldn't have been possible with out his help."
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"I'll do it. I have the most experience with transporters." Chief Reilly said. He sat at the helm, allowing the computer to keep the Nightingale in orbit around Haven station in the pocket of calm space.
"Good, Mr. Singer, you will be at the helm, Mr. Franks, you will have the conn, and I'll turn Esco over to the Jem'Hadar." Rosh instructed.
"Understood, sir." Franks acknowledged.
Jordan thought for a moment. He knew the decision was wrong. "Sir, I'll do it." He said. "I'll hand over Esco."
"Are you sure about that Ensign?" Rosh asked.
Jordan took a deep breath. "This ship has three helmsmen, but only one executive officer. I'll do it."
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"Jamming their communications should be easy enough. How many transporter inhibitors do you have on board?" Esco asked the chief engineer. The two of them were working out the technical challenges of the plan in main engineering.
"None." Hudson's reply was met with a quizzical look from the Nevlian. "This is a hospital ship. We weren't issued any transporter inhibitors."
"Damn. The plan won't work unless we can beat their transporters."
"That's the least of our problems. The minute we exit the Badlands the Battleship will pick up our power signature."
Esco pulled up a diagram of the power system on the main display and programmed in a simulation. "Look, we can adjust the antimatter flow to make our power signature almost identical to that of a Jem'Hadar assault ship. To the Battleship we will look like a sensor echo, interference from the plasma storms. It should give us enough time."
"We'll have to run the reactor pretty hot to do that." Hudson said looking at the simulation. "This is going to make our engines really inefficient. There's no way we'll break the warp threshold in this configuration, not with one…"
"Sir, do you mean the one on the other side of the hatch?" Adkins' voice came through with an obviously confused tone. "Wouldn't that close me in?"
"One what, Ensgin?" Esco asked as Hudson stared silently at the display.
Hudson shook his head, pulling himself back into the present. "One Nacelle."
Esco studied the young man intently. "Something happened when that nacelle was damaged, and you feel responsible. Some died perhaps? Maybe it was your fault?" He probed.
"Did chief tell you? Ask you to tell me that I did the right thing in ordering Adkins to his death? I know it saved the ship, but it still doesn't feel right." Hudson said.
"I was told by know one. It is my job to infer what people are thinking from the small bits of information I have at hand. Or in the case of our plan with the assault ship, force them to think what I want, with the information we present to them." Esco explained. The Nevlian sensed the engineer's mood dampen further. The man did not want the sympathy his crewmates offered. He wanted a way to reason the events out, a way to fix the problem like he did the ship's engines. And truth be told, Esco was looking for the same thing. "What is it our Vulcan friends say about the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few? A very logical assertion, but with no consideration for emotion. I much prefer this ship's motto, Do No Harm. Very human, incredibly optimistic, and wholly unrealistic. So often the choices are between two evils. Perhaps you are just realizing the ideal doesn't exist."
"Do you really believe that? That in the end, someone always has to get hurt?" Hudson asked.
"No, I believe that in the end, everyone gets hurt. This war has taken a lot from us and it will take a lot more. The dilemma that is at the forefront of my mind is the right thing to do in such times. Whose lives are more valuable, ours or the dominions? If you could end the war tomorrow by destroying a people, would you? Or do you allow some moral code not shared by your enemies to extend the hostilities?"
"Humans have another saying: the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. I'm realizing that now more than ever." Hudson said thinking about Crewman Adkins. He thought for a moment then added, "But nobody ever made it to Heaven with bad intentions."
"The road to Hell you say? Sounds a bit too pessimistic to be a human saying, but I suppose there is a realist or two among your people. I'm still partial to do no harm, but perhaps they are one and the same."
Hudson looked back at the display. "Huh." He said, and called up a new screen showing a cross section of the ship. "I just figured out how to beat their transporters."
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"So, to long range sensors, we look like a Dominion ship?" Rosh asked Hudson as the engineer explained the work he had completed. They stood at the fore end of the now empty sickbay along with Esco, Chief Reilly, and LCDR Marion.
"That's right, sir." Hudson replied, confirming his superior's assessment.
"What about the transporters?" Rosh asked.
"Sickbay is basically one large transporter." Hudson said gesturing to the transporter controls on the wall. "We can use it to generate a scattering field throughout the ship that will disrupt anything trying to materialize."
"What does that mean, disrupt?" Marion asked.
"If the Jem'Hadar attempt to transport aboard the ship, there molecules will not be reassembled. They will be effectively vaporized and filtered out of the air by our ventilation system." Hudson explained.
"Vaporized, my word." Marion said quietly.
"Will the Assault ship be able to detect the scattering field?" Rosh asked.
Esco answered next. "It will just look like random power fluctuations from a damaged ship." The Nevlian then turned to Marion. "But they will know it is unsafe to transport, and will not attempt it."
"How does my bit in the plan suppose to work, with this scattering field in effect?" Reilly asked.
"The scattering field's seemingly random pattern is actually a thirty-eight minute repeating sequence. You'll use the transporter on the McCoy; my techs are setting it up to filter out the field." Hudson said.
"And you are certain we will be able to track Mr. Esco?" Rosh asked Hudson.
Hudson held up a cylinder the size of his pinky finger. "This rod of viridium will allow us to track him." Hudson handed the rod to Esco, who immediately put it in his mouth and swallowed. Marion, Rosh, Hudson, and the Chief just stared in bewilderment at the Nevlian.
"It's in my first stomach; the acids produced there will not digest it for at least a day." Esco's explanation did not quell the confused looks. "And this way the Jem'Hadar will not find it." He added.
"You just get weirder all the time, don't you?" Chief finally asked, breaking the silence.
"I assure you that I am just as weird now as I have ever been. You are just beginning to take notice." Esco replied with a smile. The group then dispersed to make final preparations.
"Never in all my years did I imagine I would be a part of a plan like this." Marion said to Rosh as they left sickbay.
"If it any comfort to you, sir, neither did I." Rosh replied.
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The Nightingale was no longer protected by the calm space surrounding Haven station. The ship was once again braving the storms, slowly approaching the edge of the Badlands. Jordan carefully followed the trilithium signature of the assault ship in front of them. He was careful not to keep enough distance to avoid detection. "At their current speed, they're about ten minutes from clearing the storms." Jordan reported.
"Very good." Rosh acknowledged. He then tuned to the port station. "Mr. Franks, please take the helm." Franks took a breath, nodded to the XO, and rose from his station. He crossed the bridge as Jordan found a clear patch to exchange control of the helm.
"The storms are pretty calm here. Remember to look for swirls in the plasma, it'll give you a little warning before a plasma column forms." Jordan said handing the helm over.
"I know." Franks said with a touch of irritation. Jordan just looked away and headed towards the back of the bridge were Rosh and Chief Reilly. "Ensign Singer." Franks called without looking up from the helm. "Good luck."
"You too, JG." Jordan replied before joining the Chief and XO.
Rosh was in front of a panel on the aft wall with a small plate in the upper left corner marked 'Armory'. The Andorian entered a code on a small console and the panel opened to reveal four type II hand phasers.
"Four phasers? That's all?" Jordan asked.
"Just be glad one of them is yours, Mr. Singer." Rosh handed one of the weapons along with a holster.
"You should be glad it's just a hand phaser. A rifle would just slow you down." The Chief said to Jordan, while accepting a phaser of his own from the XO.
"We'll provide all the cover we can." Rosh said, holster a phaser of his own to his side. He then looked the Ensgin directly in the eye. "You will not be alone."
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Jordan walked down the corridor alone. Sure there were other people in the passageway, the hall was filled with patients from sickbay that there was just no room for, but none of them walked with Jordan nor knew the risk he had volunteered for.
Kizmet was tending one of the patients lying against the bulkhead of the corridor. She saw Jordan pass and enter one of the doors to sickbay. She finished what she was doing and hurried after him. "Jordan, wait." She called, catching up to him.
Jordan stopped and turned. He looked at her, but didn't say anything. What was there to say?
"I heard, Doctor Marion told me, about what you have to do." Kizzy said, stumbling over her words.
"Yeah?" Was all Jordan said in response.
She began to tear up. Even when the ship had been under attack Kizzy hadn't felt like danger was so near. "Good luck." She finally said, her voice squeaking a bit as she fought back her tears.
He didn't let it show on his face, but Jordan was also scared. He wasn't stepping behind the helm this time. This danger was new and alien to him. But it didn't seem as bad now, Jordan wasn't sure if it was Kizzy's support that made him feel stronger, or just seeing in her face that he was not the only one that was scare. Maybe it was simply a new resolve to survive the ordeal that grew inside him, if for no other reason than to remove the pained look from Kizmet's face. "Thanks." He said. "I'll be fine."
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"They're coming in range, sir." Franks reported from the helm as the Nightingale approached the Jem'Hadar assault ship at the edge of the Badlans.
Rosh manipulate the controls on his console. "I've jammed their long range communications. Bring us along side her, nice and easy."
It was not long before the hospital ship was noticed. The assault ship, resembling a beetle resting on two pontoons, came about steadying its narrow snout which held its main disruptor on the Nightingale.
Rosh's console lit up as the assault ship powered its weapons and targeted the Federation ship. "It seems we have been noticed." The XO said before touching the control to hail the enemy vessel.
On the viewscreen the image of the assault ship was replaced with that of a Vorta, the Dominion's genetically engineered military commanders, whom controlled the Jem'Hadar soldiers. "You have thirty seconds to surrender your ship, or we will destroy you." The Votra said.
Rosh stared coldly back. "I reject your request. You will not destroy this ship."
"Are you willing to stake your life on that, or the hundreds of other lives under your command?" The Vorta asked.
"It would take only one volley from your disruptor banks would obliterate us. If you were going to destroy us, you would have done so already."
"And if you really intended to be as defiant as your words imply you would not have come out of the Badlands to hail us. Stop wasting our time and say whatever it is you have to say."
"We are willing to give you what you want in exchange for safe passage back to Federation space."
"And what is it that we want?"
"A man named Esco."
"The skin shifter! You have him, then?"
"That is why you have been perusing us, is it not?"
"There was some doubt as to if he had survived the battle on, what was it called, MN-1375? Your Federation really lacks a talent for naming planets…" The Vorta stopped in the middle of his thought and considered the Andorian. "Why are you telling me this? I doubt you are intending to surrender, and you have no chance whatsoever of escaping. Do you think I might have a change of heart and just set you free?"
"Yes." Rosh replied. "But not without proper incentive. The skin shifter, as you call him, is a criminal, to the Federation as much as to the Dominion. Personally I don't care where he faces justice, and if surrendering him to you gets him off my ship as well as purchasing our freedom, so much the better."
"You know, I could just as easily have the Jem'Hadar take the fugitive by force." The Vorta said trying to stare the Andorian down.
Rosh was unimpressed. "True, but I have very few options available to me at this point."
The Vorta's scowl burst into a loud belly laugh. "Quite right. Prepare the prisoner; we will discuss the fate of your vessel after my soldiers have him in custody."
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"So they believed you?" Marion asked he stood with Rosh in the crowded corridor outside of sickbay.
"Of course not, but they are humoring us. Esco was right, all the want is him." Rosh explained, handing a phaser the Ensign Hudson.
"And they didn't notice the scattering field?" Hudson asked, checking the power setting before holstering the weapon.
"They assumed it was interference from damaged power systems. They're too convinced of their own superiority to care." Rosh turned to enter the fore section of sickbay, but then turned back to Hudson. "How are the doors?"
The Engineer pointed at the door in front of the XO. "That and the main door to the shuttle bay are the only two doors to sickbay that will open. The rest are sealed." Rosh nodded and stepped through the door followed by Hudson.
"Good luck." Marion called after them.
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"Put these on me." Esco said to Jordan, handing him a pair of binders. They stood in the open door between sickbay and the shuttled bay. Jordan took the binders and locked Esco's wrists together. "Nervous?" The Nevlian asked.
"They want you, not me. Shouldn't you be the one that's nervous?" Jordan tried to sound confident as if he was without fear, but unsuccessfully. If his apprehension had mass it would have taken up more space than one of the immense runabouts.
"It's all right for you to be scared. Maybe I should be too, but I deserve whatever I get. Each day that passes is probably one more than I deserve."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jordan asked, noticing Esco's skin taking on a slightly darker hue.
"It means I regret getting this ship into all of this. And if they start shooting, don't worry about me, save your own life. I don't want anyone else to come to harm because of me." The shuttle bay door then creaked as it slowly opened. Through the force field, that separated the bay from the vacuum of space, the edge of the Badlands could be seen with patches of black dotted with stars peaked through the plasma fields. And in the middle of it all a small object grew bigger against the orangish pink background.
"Any other words of encouragement before we do this?" Jordan asked sarcastically.
"Maybe just some advice. The Jem'Hadar are an abomination, a race bread for war. They are incapable of feeling fear or mercy. Show them none."
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"All set." The Chief's voice came over the comm.
"Very well, Chief." Rosh replied, closing the link. "Esco and Ensign Singer are also in place. Looks like we're ready."
"The Dominion shuttle is arriving now. Looks like seven life signs on board, all Jem'Hadar." Hudson reported from the console at the forward bulkhead of sickbay.
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"Draw your phaser." Esco instructed.
"That's wasn't part of the plan! We're not supposed to just start shooting them!" Jordan protested.
"I didn't say anything about firing it. Aim it at me, I'm a criminal, remember?"
Jordan drew the weapon and held it to Esco's side. In front of them the force field glowed as the Dominion shuttle passed through it. It set down in between the two runabouts. The shuttle seemed small next the Nightingale's support craft. Jordan tensed up; he had never seen a Jem'Hadar soldier close up before. The bay was completely still for a few long seconds, then the whine of the shuttle's aft gate pieced through the silence. There was a clunk as the gate settled on the deck. Jordan hardened himself for what would come next. Stepping lightly with their disruptor rifles drawn, the Jem'Hadar spread out across the shuttle bay, three to either side of their craft. The seventh sauntered out holding his rifle somewhat more relaxed at port arms. He stopped in front of Jordan and Esco.
"You are…" Jordan's voice failed him. The being before him was six and a half feet tall. There was a tube protruding from his neck connected to a small dispenser unit on his chest, pumping a white fluid into his body. His skin looked as if it were made of scales of gray leather. Small horns of bone protruded out of his skin along his jaw bone and in line rounding the back of his head from temple to temple.
"I am the First." The soldier announced. "Human, where is the rest of your crew? Or can't you stop shaking long enough to speak?"
Jordan forced himself to look into the unblinking eyes of the First. "Dead, or keeping this ship from tearing itself apart."
"We detected hundreds on board."
"And you probably know this it a hospital ship. Did you really want to be received by civilian doctors and sick people?" The Ensign jammed his phaser into Esco's side. "This is who you're here for, what do you care no one else is here?" The first nodded, accepting the explanation, and Jordan began feeling slightly more confident in his roll.
The First then turned to Esco. "You would make your people proud, if there were any of them left. You follow so closely in their footsteps." He sneered. He then nodded to one his men, who hurried towards Esco, pulled him away from Jordan and proceeded to pat him down. When the search was done, the Jem'Hadar soldier shook his head.
The First turned to Jordan. "Where is it?" He demanded.
"Where's what?" Jordan asked, any confidence he had leaving him upon hearing the unexpected question.
"The canister!" The First yelled. He pointed at Esco. "That man had a canister with him, where is it!"
"I don't know." Jordan said, unconsciously stepping backwards. "He didn't have anything with him."
Esco began to laugh. "It was destroyed on the surface of MN-1375, destroyed by Jem'Hadar weapons."
The soldier in front of Esco rammed the butt of his rifle into the Nevlian's gut. "You lie!" The Jem'Hadar yelled at Esoc who was doubled over in pain.
The First leveled his rifle on Jordan's head. "You had better not be lying Human!"
"I'm not lying! Why would I lie? You're getting Esco, aren't you? You can just find out from him whatever you want to know, right?" Jordan spoke quickly, trying to find the right words to make the barrel of the rifle drop.
It wasn't so much what Jordan said that convinced the First to lower his weapon, but the manner in which he said it. "I believe you; you're too stupid to lie." He then turned to the soldier in charge of Esco. "Third, take him to the shuttle." The soldier complied.
Meanwhile another soldier standing near the McCoy consulted a hand scanner. "First, there is a life form inside this support craft." Almost in unison the rifles of each Jem'Hadar snapped towards the runabout. Even the Third, escorting Esco, stopped near the cockpit hatch of the McCoy.
"What is this treachery? Who is in that vessel?" The First demanded from Jordan. "Answer me!" The First pressed the barrel of his rifle into Jordan's forehead.
Jordan did not hear the First's questions, the threat of the disrupter boring into his head drowned out all other noise. For a few moments no sound could be heard in the bay, Jordan didn't even breathe. The silence was interrupted by a low gurgle. The sound came from Esco. The Third, who was nearest him, turned his eyes from the Runabout to his prisoner. Esco stared right back. He suddenly opened his mouth. A liquid erupted from him, spraying all over the Thirds face. The gurgle was replaced with a sizzle. The Third screamed as the acidic liquid burned through his leathery scales.
All eyes where turned to the Nevlian except for two. Jordan still stared at the first whose weapon had lowered as he craned his neck in the direction of his subordinate's scream. "Fourth!" The First yelled to another soldier.
The Fourth ran towards Esco and smacked him over the back of the head with the butt of his rifle. Esco collapsed onto the deck.
"Fourth, take him back to the ship. There will be no more trouble from him." The First said. The Fourth then began to drag the Nevlian to the shuttle.
"He's not the one you should be worried about." Jordan said quietly. When the lead Jem'Hadar turned back to the Ensign, he was staring down the barrel of a Federation phaser. The First attempted to raise his rifle. Jordan depressed the thumb trigger on the top of his phaser. The First reeled back at the barrel of the phaser glowed red. There was a crackling noise, but nothing happened. Jordan pressed the button again. Again the phaser crackled, but emitted no beam.
The First straightened himself and glared at the Ensign. Jordan looked back and the fuming Jem'Hadar. He dropped the phaser and took off in a dead sprint to the fore end of sickbay.
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At the other end of sick bay, almost one hundred and fifty meters away from the shuttle bay, Rosh and Hudson observed the scene on internal sensors. "Ensign Singer needs covering fire." Rosh instructed Hudson. The two aimed their phasers down the sides of the long sickbay and fired. Nothing. Rosh checked the charge of the power cell, and the firing setting. He tried again. Nothing. "What's wrong with phasers?"
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The First raised his rifle and took careful aim and the retreating Ensign. He smiled, enjoying how easy it would be to dispatch of the insolent Human. He squeezed the trigger of his disruptor rifle. There was a loud crack, but no bolt was fired. The First pulled the trigger again and again, but the weapon was useless. "Shoot him!" He screamed to his soldiers. The shuttle bay echoed with the cracks of the other rifles, but no rifle was successfully fired.
The First dropped his rifle and took off after Jordan.
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"It's the transporter scattering field." Hudson said. "It must be diffusing all directed energy beams."
"Get ready with that force field." Rosh ordered. He then hit his comm. badge. "Ensign Singer…"
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"Run!" Rosh ordered over the comm. Jordan needed no encouragement. He was pumping his legs as hard as he could. The First followed in pursuit, quickly closing the gap between them. Jordan leaned forward and pushed hard against the deck with every stride. His heart pounded in his chest, it might have been from his sprint or maybe from his fear, but he did not think about it. He had only one thought in his mind, survival.
The First's thoughts were just as focused, but his overriding desire had nothing to do with survival, just the opposite, he was going to kill the human. The Jem'Hadar had been humiliated in front of his men; he had allowed this weakling the opportunity to kill him. No malfunctioning weapon would spare this human's life; the First would kill him with his hands.
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Esco heard the shuttle's gate close. He lay on the floor, body limp and eyes closed. He had thought they had failed, that he had failed. He believed this ship and its crew would be added to those deaths he was responsible for. But then the Jem'Hadar are incredibly predictable. They have behavior patterns hard wired into their genetically engineered minds that make them incredibly adept warriors, and sometimes incredibly gullible, if you know those behavior patterns by heart. It would not be long now; the plan was going to work. Esco remained still, he could hear the Third cursing him as he attempted to wipe the corrosive stomach acids from his face. Meanwhile the Fourth powered up the shuttles engines.
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Jordan could feel the First behind him. The soldier was almost with in arms length of the Ensign. Jordan knew he couldn't make it, he pushed harder, but his legs could not carry him any fast. "Do it!" He yelled over the comm. in between labored breaths.
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"Do it, now!" Rosh and Hudson heard Jordan repeat.
Rosh looked at his Chief Engineer; a look of horror had crept across the young man's face upon hearing what his roommate was suggesting. "There is no decision." Rosh said. Whether it was to himself or his subordinate, he did not know. "Ensign Singer will not make it. Do as he says." The Andorian ordered.
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The First reached for the Starfleet officer, but the human was just out of reach. Jordan felt the Jem'Hadar's fingers brush lightly over the back of his shoulder. The Ensign dove for cover behind a medical table. "Do it!" He screamed. "Damn it Hud, do it now!"
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Matt Hudson's fingers hovered over the console. He heard his friend's voice not only over the comm., but also faintly echoing down the cavernous sickbay. Hudson thought of Crewman Adkins. He thought of the order he had given then. He thought of his conversation with Esco, do no harm, The road to Hell, they were the same. Hudson stood at the far end of the road to Hell. He could not harm his friend; he could not kill him like he did Adkins. His could not force his fingers to drop onto the console.
Rosh shoved Hudson out of the way, it had to be done. The XO's hands ran across the control quickly. There was a thunk sound a force field was erected just beyond the first two medical beds in the bay.
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The First watched as the human leaped behind a medical bed and held tight to the bed's legs. At the same time, the First felt himself slipping backwards. He lost his footing and began wildly grabbing at anything that might stop his backwards movement.
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In the shuttle bay the Jem'Hadar soldiers were ripped from the ground and ejected out into space and the bay's force field was deactivated and the room lost atmosphere. The soldiers and the shuttle they had arrived on were quickly ejected from the shuttle bay as it was depressurized.
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Jordan held on with all his might. The air rushed by him violently as it exited the ship. He strained against the force, but his grip began to slip. He had to hold on. Jordan's own strength would now decide whether he lived or died.
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Esco felt the shuttle lurch as it was blown out into space, and he bent his fingers around and entered the release code to the binders. The two Jem'Hadar were thrown to the floor, and there weapons clattered across the deck. At the same time Esco leapt to his feet. He delivered a kick to the Third's already injured face. The Fourth scrabbled across the deck for his rifle, but Esco released another eruption of acid; it splatted over the Fourth's hand reaching for the weapon. The soldier pulled his injured limb close to his body and howled. Esco picked up bother rifles, slinging one over his shoulder. He aimed the other at the Third's head and fired. The Nevlian then turned to the Fourth. He knelt down, pressed the rifle to the Jem'Hadar's abdomen and pulled the trigger.
As the Fourth felt the life draining out of him he stared at the prisoner that had bested him. He saw the Nevlian's skin turn to a flat gray color, then dark lines formed across the gray face in a crossing pattern. As the Fourth's vision began to fade, he swore that it wasn't Esco's face he was staring into, but one of a fellow Jem'Hadar.
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Rosh reactivate the shuttle bay's force field and re-pressurized the vacuum he had just created. He then shut down the field that had protected himself and Hudson.
Hud tapped his comm. badge. "Hudson to Singer." There was no response. "Hudson to Singer, are you there?" Again there was no response. "Jordan, answer me!"
Rosh looked at the pained engineer. "The ship has a chance now, Ensign Singer understood that."
Hudson looked down the length of sickbay. It was filled with air again, but the room felt emptier than anything Hudson had ever known.
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Esco pulled a panel of the ship's communications unit and removed an isolinear rod. He then set the shuttle's course for the assault ship and hailed the vessel. The Vorta's face appeared, but the transmission was garbled, courtesy of the isolinear rod Esco held in his hand.
"Shuttle, I can barley see you." The Vorta said.
"This is the First, we have been betrayed. The communications unit must have been hit in the fire fight." Esco replied.
"I told you they would; the Federation scum does not know when it is beaten. Did you accomplish you mission?"
"I have the skin shifter."
"And the canister?"
"It is here."
"The Founders would be proud. Come aboard as quickly as you can, and I will allow you too destroy the Federation ship." Even through the static the smile on the Vorta's face was apparent.
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Collapsed under a medical table, Jordan gasped for air. He could hear Hudson calling him over the comm., but he could not calm his breathing enough to respond. He was about the hit his comm.. badge when he looked up and saw the First standing over him. The Jem'Hadar grabbed Jordan by the neck and picked him up off the ground.
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Esco maneuvered the shuttle onto final approach to the assault ship's shuttle bay. He went to the back of the shuttle and opened a service hatch to reveal the small supply of antimatter he took the rifle off his shoulder, set it to overload, and then jammed it into the compartment with the antimatter.
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On the McCoy's sensor readout, Chief Reilly could see the viridium signature was almost inside the assault ship. His timing would need to be perfect. He only had a moment after Esco took the shuttle inside the Dominion vessel before the plan was completed or the assault ship raised its shields and destroyed the Nightingale. The Chief locked the transporter onto the viridium signature and counted down the seconds.
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The First was enjoying watching the human struggle. Jordan tried hit and kicked the First, but to no avail. As he swung his arm he felt his right hands hit something. It was a draw. He pulled it open and grabbed the first thing he could get his hand on. Looking to his side he was he had grabbed a laser scalpel. Activating it he stabbed at the Jem'Hadar's neck, blood started pouring out of the wound. The First dropped Jordan and grabbed his own neck and howled in pain. The Ensign still had the scalpel in his hand. He thrust it into the First's knee, and the soldier dropped to the ground.
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In the shuttle bay of the assault ship the Vorta stood grinning arrogantly while he watched the shuttle come aboard. He never suspected that anything was wrong. He never had any idea that the power cell of a Jem'Hadar disruptor rifle set on overload was exploding, and destroying the containment system of the shuttle's antimatter supply. The Vorta still had that arrogant smile on his face as his body was vaporized in the explosion of the shuttle.
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Esco smiled as he stood next to the Chief watching the assault ship explode from the cockpit of the McCoy.
"Reilly to Lieutenant Franks." The Chief said. "Get us out of here."
"With pleasure Chief." Franks' voice came over the come. After resting the antimatter flow to its normal configuration, he then commanded the Nightingale to jump to warp.
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"Jordo!" Hudson yelled seeing his roommate alive. He ran up and hugged his friend. "When you didn't respond I thought…"
"Sorry, Hud. I got a little preoccupied." Jordan said gesturing towards the Jem'Hadar.
"Make sure the scattering field is deactivated, Mr. Hudson." Rosh said drawing his phaser and pointing it at the Jem'Hadar. Hudson went off to carry out his orders.
Lieutenant Commander Marion, flanked by doctors Kizmet and Sovek, stepped up to his XO. "Is everyone ok? Did Esco make it?"
"I am fine Doctor Marion." Esco answered as he and the Chief approached from the shuttle bay.
"Everyone is fine, sir. The only one bleeding is that." Rosh said, indicating the Jem'Hadar on the floor with his phaser.
"Oh, my!" Marion said, startled when he saw the man on the floor. "Is that on of those Hadar fellow?" Kizmet passed Marion and knelt down next to the First, scanning him with a medical tricorder.
"Jem'Hadar, Doctor Marion." Esco corrected. "Excuse me, what is she doing?" Esco asked referring to Kizzy.
"My job." She replied. "This man is hurt." She pulled out a dermal regenerator and sealed the wound on the First's neck.
"That man is an abomination! His race was created to kill, nothing more. He does not deserve your care." Esco protested. Kizmet ignored him and continued to work. Esco turned to Marion. "Do you see that tube running into his neck? It is delivering an isogenic enzyme called ketracel-white to his body. Once the supply runs out he will go berserk before dieing just days later."
Rosh took a step towards Marion and spoke softly. "He's right, sir. It would be unwise to keep a living Jem'Hadar onboard. I've heard of ketracel-white, it cannot be replicated. The Jem'Hadar is dead already."
Kizmet paid no attention to what was going on around her. "This is going to hurt." She told her patient as she prepared to pull the laser scalpel out of his knee.
"Why do you do this?" The First asked.
"I took an oath." She said, swiftly pulling the medical instrument out of his knee. "Above all else, do no harm." She again picked up the dermal regenerator and used it to stop the bleeding.
"I took an oath to serve the Founders. I will not allow myself to be held hostage by their enemies." The First replied.
"My oath is to all living things, even if they are my enemy."
"Then you pledge yourself to a fool's errand." The First scoffed.
"Maybe, but my oath is going to save you from bleeding to death." Kizzy replied.
Marion stared at the scene, never in all his years as a doctor had he seriously considered not helping someone who required care. He needed more opinions. "Doctor Sovek, what do you think?"
"It is not logical to help this individual. In the end our efforts will be fruitless. It would be in our best interest to kill him." If Marion didn't know better he would have sworn the Vulcan was glaring at the Jem'Hadar.
"Jordan, Chief, help me get him onto a medical table." Kizmet asked the two onlookers.
"He tried to kill me." Jordan said, not making any move to help.
"Sir?" Chief Reilly asked Marion.
Watching the First being lifted onto the table, Marion knew the order he had to give, not just for the sake of the ship, but for the Federation. "We will not kill this man. We will provide the best care possible."
"Are you mad? We just destroyed their ship and all his men! Doctor, you are already responsible for ordering the death of dozens of these creatures!" Esco said in disbelief.
Marion was ready to defend his position. "That was in a combat situation Mr. Esco. We did what was needed to escape the Badlands. The mission of this ship is to save life, all life. We may be in a war, but that is no excuse for deserting our morals. The moment we abandon our sense of right and wrong, the Dominion has won, because what the Federation was before this war will be gone. Ensign Singer, Chief Reilly, please assist Doctor Kizmet."
"The scattering field has been deactivated." Hudson said walking up behind Rosh, Marion, and Sovek. "Did I miss something?" He asked, watching Jordan and Reilly lift the First to a nearby medical table.
"I'm going to sedate you." Kizzy told her patient as she loaded a medication into a hypospray. "You need to rest, it will speed your recovery."
"Very well." The First said. Kizzy reached over the other side of the Firsts neck to administer the hypo. The First hand moved up so quickly Kizmet didn't realize the Jem'Hadar had moved until she was being thrown over the table. Before she hit the ground the First had seized the hypo and injected the medication into Chief Reilly's arm. In the same movement he kicked his legs out, hitting Jordan in the chest. The first rolled off the table to the floor, and wrapped his arm around Jordan's neck. He stood up, using the Ensign to shield as much of his massive frame as he could. "This one will die if you try too stop…"
Before the First could finish his thought a brilliant red beam shot out from behind Rosh and Marion. It hit the soldier directly in the head. The Jem'Hadar's body glowed briefly before being completely vaporized.
"Ensign Hudson!" Rosh yelled. "What if you had hit Mr. Singer?" All eyes turned to the Ensign.
Hudson held nothing in his hands and his holster was empty. "It wasn't me." He said.
Standing next to the engineer Sovek stood with the phaser still trained on were the Jem'Hadar had once stood. "It was logical." The Vulcan said his voice clearly agitated. "He deserved it."